By Josie Hathway
March 15, 2004

In a very tight budget environment, Senator Maria Cantwell's (WA) workforce funding amendment to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Budget Resolution passed by voice vote late Thursday, March 11 after a compromise agreement was reached. The compromise, sponsored by Senator Michael B. Enzi (WY), Chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee, adds $250 million to the Labor, Health and Human Service and Education (Labor-HHS) budget and is intended to increase workforce training funding. However, it is up to the Senate Appropriations Committee to distribute the $250 million within the Labor-HHS bill, which includes appropriations for No Child Left Behind Act, National Institutes of Health and other education and health areas. Cantwell's amendment as introduced would have restored Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Employment Service funding to FY 2002 levels. This is a very big win since her amendment was one of the few to pass.

Since FY 2002 WIA funding has been cut by $448 million and the Employment Service has been cut by $101 million. These programs provide employment and training services to the nation's workers. In a March 1 "Dear Colleague" letter to the Senate Budget Committee, Senator Cantwell stated, "This year, 21 million workers—more than one in seven workers nationally—will seek assistance from our nation's employment and training programs. These programs are the first line of defense for laid-off workers."

The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data reported that only 21,000 jobs were created in February, well short of the 125,000 jobs expected. The unemployment rate stayed at 5.6 percent, with 8.2 million people unemployed, but with increasing numbers of discouraged workers dropping out of the labor market - almost 400,000 in February.

The President's FY 2005 budget request also proposes to redistribute $641 million in funding from current employment and training programs to fund new initiatives. The letter, signed by 38 Senators in a 24 hour time frame, states, "While we applaud the Administration for proposing new initiatives that assist job seekers, we strongly urge that they not be funded out of current programs."

Senate Republicans committed to ensuring that the $250 million amendment survives in the upcoming budget resolution conference. Last year Senator Cantwell was successful in getting a similar amendment passed, but it was removed in conference.